Latest news with #TheOffice
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Scottish civil servants who object to bus travel show just how out of touch they are
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... If Ricky Gervais is looking for inspiration for a new sitcom, he should cast a beady eye over the goings-on at St Andrew's House, home of Scotland's civil servants. Gervais and Stephen Merchant created The Office, one of the UK's all-time great TV comedies, a mockumentary set in a paper company in Slough. It chronicled the absurdities of office life, from petty bureaucracy to poor leadership. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A peak moment came in the first series, when Gervais, who played David Brent – a crass, attention-seeking office manager – livened up a staff training day with an impromptu dance. His cringeworthy dad dancing is an iconic moment in the history of British comedy. The head of Scotland's civil service, Joe Griffin, is no Ricky Gervais. To be fair, he's not even a David Brent. He is too well paid for that role. But his performance at a Holyrood committee earlier this week was as vacuous as any of Brent's inane utterings. Some of today's civil servants in the Scottish Government appear to be just as farcical as The Office's David Brent, played by Ricky Gervais (Picture: Ian West) | PA Lots of action? Asked repeatedly by Michelle Thomson MSP when the Scottish Government was going to implement the recent Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender, Griffin responded with a jumble of excuses. He accepts the court's ruling and is taking action. What action? A range of actions, it seems, including a short-life working group to take stock of the actions required. He couldn't specify any detail of the actions, as the group are still 'preparing the ground' for future actions. There will be actions, but only when the time is right. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Griffin, who was only recently promoted to Scotland's top government job, tried to pass the blame for his inaction to the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), claiming that he could not act until the equality regulator had concluded its review of the statutory guidance. An excuse that turns out to have less credibility than 'Please sir, the dog ate my homework'. Trans guidance for schools and prisons In an exchange of letters between campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) and EHRC, the latter's head, Baroness Falkner, made it clear on June 20 – four days before Griffin gave his evidence – that the Scottish Government has already been told that there is no need to wait for guidance and should 'be seeking to update their policies and practices in the light of the new understanding of the law…' In other words, the Scottish Government can, and should, take action now to rescind two controversial documents: its transgender guidance for schools and the Scottish Prison Service transgender custody policy, neither of which comply with the Equality Act. Perhaps more worrying for the Permanent Secretary is that, at a meeting on June 5, a senior civil servant told For Women Scotland and others, that the EHRC had advised the Scottish Government it must wait for the final code of practice to be published before taking any action – a claim contested by EHRC. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad No doubt the Permanent Secretary has set up a short-life action group to work out how to respond to For Women Scotland's request that the matter is now fully investigated 'in light of the standards expected under the civil service code'. Working from home But first, he will have to find enough people in St Andrew's House to staff it, and there he might struggle. Most of Scotland's 9,000 civil servants work from home, scattered across spare bedrooms and office pods the length and breadth of Scotland. But under Griffin's leadership that is about to change – or is it? He told the committee that, from October, civil servants will be expected to turn up at the office at least two days a week. Cue shrieks of outrage from civil servants who, from the comfort of their sofa – sorry, home office – logged on to Saltire, the government's internal communications system, to express their horror. They raged about a breach of their civil rights, while making unreasonable demands for doing what they are handsomely paid to do, that is, turn up at work. Some asked that taxpayers subsidise their transport costs, others suggested the re-opening of the swimming pool at Victoria Quay, the government's Leith HQ, as the price for their co-operation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Taking the bus My particular favourite, and the one that sums up the current civil service's attitude to the rest of us, was the uncivil servant who expressed his fear of using public transport. 'At least in the safety of my Fiat Tipo I'm not going to be sitting in someone else's urine,' he said. As someone who, for five years, got a 27 bus to and from St Andrew's House at least five days a week, I can safely say I never once sat on a seat soaked in pee, not even at 6.30am. During my time in government, I also worked with some of the cleverest people in Scotland, some of whom remain friends to this day. Of course, there were time-servers, people whose only job was to book travel for their boss or senior managers in charge of 'special' projects, designed to keep them out of sight. But the culture was overwhelmingly rooted in old-fashioned public service. Today's civil service seems a different beast to what it was in 1999 or even 2009, and it is not just because there are far more of them. Since 2019, staff numbers in the Scottish Government core departments have jumped by 38 per cent. Despite its claim to be collaborative and innovative, kind even, its organisational personality is a caricature of a progressive elite, divorced from the realities of everyday life. Historically high waiting times for cancer patients, the affordable housing crisis and an explosion of violence in schools may be the stuff that concerns you and I, but the focus of Scotland's civil servants seems elsewhere – on themselves.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
My Favorite Show of All Time Just Got Renewed After 10 Years and I'm Seriously Freaking Out
It takes a lot to get me excited about an upcoming TV show or movie—and to get me to "freak out" level? Nearly impossible. And yet, it's 2025. Katy Perry has gone to space, Beyoncé is dominating in country music and I am freaking the hell out. My favorite show of all time, HBO's The Comeback starring comedic genius Lisa Kudrow, has just been renewed for a third and final season. Normally a show renewal wouldn't be a huge deal. But season two of The Comeback premiered in 2014 meaning it's been more than ten years since the show last aired. And before that? It was ten years between the show's first season (which hit HBO in 2005) and sophomore season. So guys? This is a big deal. I've texted all my friends. I've posted on Instagram. And now I've calmed down enough to share the (much-needed) good news with you. Today, Kudrow—in character as the show's leading lady, Valerie Cherish—appeared in a new video put out by HBO. And to see that iconic red-haired actress grace my screen has gotten me emotional. HBO also released a press release about the news, saying, "20 years after the first season debuted in 2005, and 10 years after season two, HBO has announced the original comedy series The Comeback, from Michael Patrick King (And Just Like That…) and Lisa Kudrow, will return again for a third and final season."The announcement continued, "Season three will begin production this summer and will debut on HBO and HBO Max in 2026." Now I just need to hope the world doesn't end before 2026 (fingers crossed!). For those who aren't mega-fans (yet), the series is a documentary style comedy (a la The Office) following a former sitcom star, Valerie Cherish (Kudrow), as she attempts to make her big comeback in a changing Hollywood landscape. In case I wasn't clear, the show is sooooooooo good. It's sooooooooo freaking funny. I have forced so many friends to watch it with me and then they end up bingeing the full thing right away. Seriously. Go watch. As I mentioned, the fact that it's been ten years since the last season means fans like myself had given up hope of ever seeing Cherish again (in spite of plenty of teasing from Kudrow, King and executive producer/costar Dan Bucatinsky over the years). While 2026 does seem far off, I'll be having a rewatch party of seasons one and two this weekend. (I highly recommend you do the same.) Want all the latest entertainment news sent right to your inbox? Click here. My Husband Made Me Watch This Bonkers Murder Mystery Series and Now I Can't Stop Bingeing
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Office' Star Reveals When They Knew Steve Carrell Would Leave the Show
Dunder Mifflin's Scranton office struggled to find its footing without Michael Scott at the helm — and so did the cast of The Office. In a recent interview with Josh Peck on his Good Guys podcast, Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on the 2005 hit, admitted to the chaos that followed Steve Carrell's departure from his role as the regional manager of the beloved paper company. "When Steve left, then it was a little bit chaotic of trying to figure out the tone of the show and who's the lead and, how are we telling these stories without, you know, the comic engine of the show, which is Michael Scott?" Wilson said. But no one was surprised when Carrell left the show to focus on other projects after spending six years starring as the lead on The Office. After leaving the show, Carrell went on to star in hit movies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Get Smart, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. "We knew it was coming for a long time," Wilson said. Though it wasn't completely surprising, Carrell's departure from the show on "Goodbye, Michael" was still a bittersweet tear-jerker. "There actually wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was really sad. It was very difficult to make comedy when there was a heaviness hanging over the proceedings," Wilson had previously said to Entertainment Weekly. As for Wilson, his career has seen many successes since The Office ended. He's taken on roles in Adventure Time, The Meg, and Star Trek: Discovery, among others. He also co-founded Lide Haiti, an education nonprofit benefitting Haitian girls in underserved communities. 'The Office' Star Reveals When They Knew Steve Carrell Would Leave the Show first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 25, 2025
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Rainn Wilson said that the office became 'chaotic' after Steve Carell left, says 'So that was also a struggle'
The Office nearly had a serious problem. On the June 19 episode of the Good Guys Podcast with Josh Peck and Ben Soffer, Rainn Wilson , who played Dwight Schrute on the renowned comedy series, discussed his time on The Office and how the cast and crew developed the tone over time. Wilson, 59, believes the series, which debuted in 2005, "fell into gear" midway through season 2. "If you watch season one, it is pretty dreary. It's quite dark. It is darkly illuminated. People don't wear any makeup. He stated the show, which was based on a prior British version, has nothing in common with American television. He even recalls that during the first season, before filming the script, the cast would imitate being in the office and doing their tasks for a half-hour in order to "sink" into the reality of the show's "documentary" format. In season 2, Wilson stated, "Steve [Carell] does his hair a little better." We're sporting a little finer suits. The lighting on the stage makes it feel a little warmer. It's filmed a little kinder. And it helped a lot." "The show changed and just became a little bit warmer and a little more human," he told me. A huge aspect, he noted, was exposing that Carell's Michael Scott had "a big heart." Wilson responded: "He's a doofus, and he says he always says the wrong thing, but, you know, he's a lovable guy." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Worst Home Items That People Own, Ranked CleverClassic Undo But because Carell, 62, was such an important part of the program, when he decided to depart during season 7 (his last episode was "Goodbye, Michael,' which aired in April 2011), Wilson said things were difficult. "When Steve left, then it was a little bit chaotic of trying to figure out the tone of the show and who's the lead and how are we telling these stories without the comic engine of the show, which is Michael Scott, and without one of the greatest comic actors in American history at the centre of our show," Wilson recalled." "So that was also a struggle." The podcast hosts wondered if it was a "gut punch" to learn Carell was leaving. "We knew it was coming for a long time," Wilson recalled, noting that Carell was "such a big movie star." Just months following the launch of The Office, the actor starred in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, followed by Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life, Get Smart, Date Night, and Crazy Stupid Love. "Of course, he'll leave The Office whenever he can. So we were prepared, but it was absolutely difficult to find the tone of the show without Steve," Wilson explained. The series eventually ran for two more seasons without Carell, thanks in part to a number of guest performers, before concluding with season 9 in 2013. In 2023, Wilson admitted on a podcast that he "spent several years really mostly unhappy" on The Office. "I didn't enjoy it. I was thinking, "Why am I not a movie star?" Why amn't I the next Jack Black or Will Ferrell? Why can't I have a movie career? "Why don't I have this development deal?" he recalled. "When I was on The Office … I was making hundreds of thousands," claimed the actor. "I wanted millions. I was a television celebrity, but I aspired to be a film star. It has never been enough. Humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years, and 'never enough' has helped us as a species."
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Peacock Review: New Movies, Noteworthy Originals and Live Sports Will Keep It in Your Rotation
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. 7.8 / 10 SCORE Peacock Buy at Peacock Pros Quality original series and recent theatrical releases Lots of options for fans of NBC and Bravo Live sports like WWE, the Olympics and NBA in the fall Cons No longer offers Hallmark programming Less comprehensive library compared to rivals like Netflix No downloads, local NBC station unless you're on the more expensive tier Peacock 7.8/10 CNET Score Buy at Peacock With roughly 41 million subscribers, NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock has found more and more fans since its 2020 launch. After adding buzzy series like The Day of the Jackal and box office hits like Wicked, it's leveling up its new and original content. However, the service no longer offers Hallmark programming and raised prices in both 2023 and 2024. Season 1 of The Day of the Jackal is now streaming. Marcell Piti/Carnival Film & Television Limited Peacock, though not as large as some of its rivals, looks similar to Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Max, with a simple tiled interface lined with famous network shows. You'll find shows, movies, live sports and always-on channels, with standouts including Poker Face, The Office and Modern Family. If you upgrade to Peacock's Premium Plus tier, you get downloads, your local live NBC station and fewer commercials in addition to the perks of the Premium tier. An ad-supported Peacock Premium subscription costs $8 per month or $80 per year and gives you access to thousands of hours of content. That includes films straight from theaters, Peacock originals, always-on channels and series like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Law and Order: SVU and Saturday Night Live. You'll also get next-day access to new episodes of current NBC shows. Peacock once offered a free tier for new subscribers, but now that option is only available for some existing customers who want to downgrade their account from a paid, premium version. For those who have had the free tier, there is a catch. Popular shows like The Traitors and Poker Face only offer one episode on the tier, with the rest behind the Premium paywall. And some shows, like Parks and Recreation and The Office, are entirely off-limits unless you upgrade. Peacock's live sports offering is a strength, and you can watch with a standard Premium subscription. It has NFL Sunday Night Football, the US Open, WWE wrestling, the Premier League, the Olympics and, starting in the fall of 2025, live NBA games. Whether you're willing to pay $8 to $14 a month when you already have the other major streaming services will depend on how much you want to watch content like The Office, Days of Our Lives, Yellowstone and live sports. Read more: 11 of the Best Peacock Shows to Stream Now Streaming services compared undefined Peacock Netflix HBO Max Disney Plus Monthly price Premium with ads for $8, ad-free Premium Plus for $14, free option for existing subscribers Starts at $8 Starts at $10 Starts at $10 Top titles The Office, Yellowstone, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Day of the Jackal Stranger Things, Squid Game, Bridgerton, Wednesday House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, Euphoria, DC titles Daredevil: Born Again, Andor, Loki, Phineas and Ferb Mobile downloads Yes, with Premium Plus Yes Yes Yes, with $16 Premium Live sports Yes Yes Yes, with $17 Standard and $21 Premium No Number of streams: 3 2 (4 with $25 Premium) 2 (4 with Premium) 4 How many ads does Peacock have? I tested out the streamer's $8 per month ad-supported tier, Peacock Premium. It's also worth mentioning that subscribers to Peacock's $14 per month ad-free Premium Plus tier will still see commercials on "a small amount of programming, Peacock channels, live events and a few TV shows and movies," according to Peacock. I watched an episode of the most current season of Love Island USA on a laptop, and the ads were tolerable. You can view how many commercial breaks will appear in the progress bar, and I counted five outside of a 15-second ad roll before the episode started. Breaks lasted between 60 and 90 seconds, and in total, I watched about 6 minutes of ads over the course of the hour-long episode. Next, I watched a season 2 episode of Poker Face, another show currently airing. This time, I viewed the episode on a TV using a Roku streaming device. I noticed a key difference when watching on a TV vs. a laptop -- poster-like ads on-screen when I pressed pause. Otherwise, the ad load didn't differ much. Including an ad roll before the episode, I saw six ad breaks for a total of 6 minutes and 15 seconds of commercials over the 48-minute murder mystery installment. My experience with ads during movies went a bit differently. Instead of scattering commercials throughout Wolf Man, Peacock front-loaded the horror flick with 2 minutes and 35 seconds of ads. After the pre-movie block of commercials, I could enjoy the rest of the film on my laptop without interruptions. Familiar navigation (for the most part) Peacock's homepage is similar to what you might see from other streaming services. There's a big carousel of "hero" tiles at the top and rows of thumbnails below, labeled Peacock Picks, Continue Watching, Peacock Originals, Family Movie Night and so on. You can view Top 10 lists for shows and movies or choose to see content from a specific brand like Bravo or Universal Pictures. You can also seamlessly search for specific titles, but if you type in "originals," it won't spit out a list of Peacock Originals. Note that Peacock does have kids profiles with movie options like Shrek 1 through Shrek 3, Despicable Me 1 through Despicable Me 3 and the 2025 animated flick Dog Man. Parents can limit the content accessible on these profiles by selecting from one of three maturity ratings: Little Kids (TV-Y), Older Kids (TV-Y7, TV-G, G) and Family (TV-PG, PG). It's important to note that kids may see child-friendly content on their profile that they can't watch because of their pre-set range. If they try, they will get blocked and see a message that says "this content exceeds the maturity ratings limit set for this profile." Parents also have the option of setting a PIN to keep kids from switching to their adult profile. Peacock/Screenshot by CNET Browsing deep into NBC's back catalog Peacock is a trove for fans of NBC and Bravo shows, offering comedies like 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, reality series like Real Housewives and Below Deck and Law and Order spin-offs. Peacock has also become a destination for buzzy originals like The Day of the Jackal and the popular dating show Love Island USA. Poker Face and Ted are other originals that have earned multiple seasons. Some shows you might associate with NBC, like Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier aren't on Peacock, and don't seem to be coming any time soon. Series may be incomplete -- for example, you'll only find nine out of 24 total seasons of Law and Order. In the Movies category, you'll find hundreds of titles, organized by genre, franchise and new additions for the month. The platform regularly streams recent theatrical releases like Nosferatu, Conclave and The Wild Robot -- a perk for people who prefer to wait to watch films at home. But unless they're originals, you shouldn't count on titles to stick around on Peacock forever -- the latter two of those movies are now on Prime Video and Netflix. Peacock is currently home to Oscar best picture winner Oppenheimer and the conversation-dominating Wicked. In October 2023, Five Nights at Freddy's had a same-day premiere on Peacock. Peacock's original shows outnumber its original movies, but you can still find some options such as Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Peacock helpfully displays Rotten Tomatoes ratings, both showing the critics' score and the audience score. Movie thumbnails may include a red-tomato, "fresh" rating but don't display a score if the movie is rated "rotten." You can see the score for any movie with a Rotten Tomatoes rating, alongside the audience score, after selecting it. Oscar best picture winner Oppenheimer is streaming exclusively on Peacock. Universal Pictures 'Channels' mixes live TV and on-demand The Channels section of the app looks kind of like a cable box grid guide, but instead of various networks and cable channels, you get themed channels around Peacock's programming. For example, you can tune into re-runs of The Office or Vanderpump Rules on loop. Other channels include Best of WWE, Dateline 24/7, Game Show Central and Spanish-language content from Telemundo. If you want to replicate the experience of channel surfing and watching whatever's on, this feature may be worth a try, but you should prepare to see some ads, even if you have Premium Plus. A big appeal to the Channels section will likely be its live sports and news programs, which offer a decent selection of live NBC programming. These include NBC News Now, Sky News, NBC channels for major cities like New York and Los Angeles and NBC Sports Now. If you pay for Premium Plus, you will be able to watch your live local NBC station. However, unlike live TV streaming platforms such as YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV, there's no option to record programming to a DVR. Should you get Peacock? If you like NBC, Bravo, Universal Pictures movies or need a new original show to stream, why not try it out? If the ads bug you, you can upgrade, and if you want to pay less, you can find deals depending on your internet, phone or cable provider. Some cable customers can get it for free. You may view Peacock as less of a must-have streamer compared to rivals like Netflix or Hulu, but it may still be worth getting for its price point and attractive content offering. If you don't mind watching a few ads, it's a fun place to explore movies and a big mix of TV shows, and keep up with current NBC shows, reality TV, news and live sports in one spot.
